


now i know why trees change in the fall

by jcp_sob_rjl_lmep



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Multi, Racism, Xenophobia, even smaller mention of Joanna McCoy, kids can be jerks man, mentions of David Kirk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 14:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17530427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jcp_sob_rjl_lmep/pseuds/jcp_sob_rjl_lmep
Summary: Spock is reminded of his own unpleasant childhood when his son asks him a seemingly innocent question. To answer him, Spock must come to terms with himself.





	now i know why trees change in the fall

"Sa'mekh, what's a half-breed?" Joseph murmured. He was almost fully asleep, David snoring away beside them. Fury rose in Spock.

"Tomorrow, _pi'veh_." He replied, leaning down to press a Human kiss to his son's forehead. Joseph settled and slid fully into sleep, curling with his brother as Spock left them.

 

* * *

"Joseph will not be going to school tomorrow," Spock informed his husbands as the three of them settled in bed.

"He's okay?" Jim asked. Spock soothed him and Leonard through the bond, feeling them both relax against him.

"He is well, Jim. He simply asked me a question before bed tonight and I wish to show him tomorrow." Spock would tell them. But not tonight, not when he could remember hearing his mother cry in her office, remember how Michael and Sybok weren't allowed to see him at school because they were deemed too threatening to his agemates, remember the rolling flood of his own father's anger. Perhaps tomorrow, but tonight he could not do it.

* * *

Spock saw off both of his husbands and elder children, then climbed the stairs to the boys' room.

"Joseph, _pi'veh_ , wake up," Spock knelt at his son's bedside, brushing his hair gently. Joseph stirred slowly, blinking open the blue eyes he shared with his papa and brother.

"Sa'mekh?" He whined, blinking lethargically.

"Shh, Josephkam. It is time to wake up." Spock helped his son dress for the day in jeans and a t-shirt, then sent him off to brush his teeth whilst Spock replicated some breakfast. Spock himself was also wearing jeans and a t-shirt, mostly to blend in but perhaps slightly because of the way it made his husbands gape at him.

They had a breakfast of kreylah and cheese, and then Spock bundled them both up in their coats and handmade scarves from his mother, checking to lock the door behind him.

Joseph decided he wanted to take the train, so they walked, Spock listening intently as his son babbled about whatever crossed his mind, skipping along the sidewalk.

On the train, Spock handed Joseph the tickets for the conductor and allowed him to sit in the window seat, watching Joseph as the countryside flew by and the little boy gazed in wonder.

* * *

They reached their destination within an hour, a small beach town that Spock's mother would likely call 'quaint'. They simply wandered the town, Spock trailing his son as Joseph explored to his fancy. They went through plants poking out of the sidewalk and thrift shops with "The perfect present for Papa, Sa'mekh, look!"

They stopped for lunch when Joseph complained of hunger, and then Spock led his son away from the town and towards the beach, letting his lips curl in a smile as Joseph whooped in glee, running a few paces ahead and then back to Spock. Two more hours passed as Joseph seemed to find every small creature and rock on the beach, running back to where Spock was sitting to ask him what exactly they were.

Finally, it was getting late. The sun was just beginning to set, the light over the beach fading softly.

"Joseph," Spock said. His son turned to look at him, sand dusting one side of his face, and Spock knelt beside him, reaching out one hand to cup his cheek and gently brush at the mess with his thumb. He looked so like Jim Spock could cry. "Joseph, a half-breed is a person like you or me. We are not just one species-Human and Vulcan, for me, or Human, Klingon, and Romulan, for you. The person you heard using it was most likely using it in a derogatory manner because there are people who believe that those like us are unnatural."

Joseph's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned, a familiar fire lighting in those blue, blue eyes.

"But why, Sa'mekh? Why's it so bad that I'm like you?"

"Oh, sa'fu," Spock sighed, pulling his son close and tucking him under his chin. "It is not, Joseph. But these people will not respond to logic. I cannot understand their reasoning, but I wish for you to remember this."

He pulled Joseph back again, cupping his face with both hands and looking him firmly in the eye.

"Joseph, we may be half-breeds, but that does not have to be a bad thing. And above all, know how your fathers love you and take pride in you. There is no one else like you, Joseph. That does not make you _strange_ , that makes you _special_."

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> So here's the thing. I know that most people don't know about Joseph, which is understandable, given that he's only in the books, and three of them at that. He's established as David's younger brother, and his mother died when he was young, leaving him to be raised by Jim as a single father. When Joseph was six, the ship ran into the anomaly that killed his mother, and to stop the anomaly, Joseph sacrificed himself.  
> Also, as I touched on in the story, Joseph's mother was half-Klingon, half-Romulan, which gives Joseph some of the weirdest biology in the universe. It's actually established that he's only a 'he' because he wanted to be a boy.  
> Anyways, I love my boys, and one day I wondered what Spock would do if he had a child who came home and asked him about xenophobia after everything he went through as a child.  
> And so this story was birthed.  
> I hope you all enjoyed, my tumblr is still iwillstaywiththemforever.  
> Downloading is okay but please don't post this story anywhere else without my permission.  
> Bye!  
> P.S. The title is from Taylor Swift's song 'The Best Day'.


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